Racial/Ethnic Variations in the Relation Between Body Mass Index and Cognitive Function Among Older Adults

Objectives: The present study examines racial/ethnic variations in the relation between body mass index (BMI) and cognitive function among older adults. Design: Cross-sectional study of secondary data. Setting: Data were obtained from the 2010 Health and Retirement Study. Participants: Racial/ethnic groups analyzed were black (n = 546), Hispanic (n = 110), and non-Hispanic white (n = 4,104). Measurements: BMI was calculated based on self-reported height and weight. Cognitive function was measured based on Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status-Health and Retirement Study version scores. Results: Significant main effects were found for both BMI and race/ethnicity, indicating that cognitive function varies significantly by both. The BMI x race/ethnicity interaction was also found to be significant. The interaction revealed that among the white sample cognitive function scores tended to increase as BMI increased whereas the opposite relation was observed in the Hispanic sample. The black sample displayed a similar pattern as the white sample, although a decrease was observed in cognitive function scores once BMI reached obesity. Conclusion: The results suggest that the relation between BMI and cognitive function does vary by race ethnicity. Therefore, it can be concluded that high or low BMI may vary as a risk or protective factor for cognitive dysfunction among older adults by race/ethnicity. Implications for research and clinical work are discussed.